Summer Stories- Day 2 in York and Hull

Time for Day 2 of summer break! Apologies for the long delays. I almost forgot that I have a blog to maintain and my Master's Project is giving me a serious toll on my health.

Neways, Day 1 ended with a long stroll in the historic yet avant garde' City of York. A very contradictory compliment right? But yea, I stand firm to it. Beautiful, plain yet different from other UK cities i visited so far. So, day 2 began with us waking up as early as 7am! Had our simple breakfast and off to the city centre we go! Did I mention that the bitchy receptionist snatched our keys, dump it in the box and just smirked farewell to us. Rude much! O.O"

Breakfast Lounge

Had a full and proper English breakfast for once

So back in the city, we were actually on our way to the train museum, when we saw the Marching Squad of the York Regiment lined up right in front of York Castle. So once more we stopped by the castle/dungeon to see what was going on. It was some sort of yearly event to commemorate the soldiers' contribution during the World Wars or something~ Well, at least BBC and some VIP(S) and the Duke was there? Weirdly enough, Soldier Day was a week away in Newcastle and yet they do this now? Oh well~

The entire contingent mainly spanned of the royal army of york, retired regiments, volunteer forces from local schools and 2 horses! Shame on the horses who kept pooping while it was 'marching' it's way around the crowd? =P

Flag Bearers discussing formation and routes one last time

VIPs, dukes and Army Generals, front and centre!

A fine day to start the march from Clifford Tower

So, before long, the entire ceremony started. The contingent commander (who was stationed right in front of me) began shouting and all. Amazed that the entire contingent could even hear his voice. The starting area had such a large open space that you can hardly hear anything from the other end of the square. Oh man, this made me miss my old kawat days~

These are the retired army men, and believe me, they DO KNOW how to properly march!

SALUTE!

Almost crippled men, who still joined in the march in honor of their comrade, either living the the deceased~

The poop-maesters! Why? See next pic...

Those two horses kept leaving these droppings in their wake!

Ewww!!!

Despite the repeated small rain hails and hot sun shining, the entire thing went quite well. Respect to those retired army men who even came to join the parade despite the mobility restrictions. Thankfully men invented those assistant vehicles huh?

Right after the marching parade, we rushed all the way to the famous York's Viking Museum. For those who do not know, when England was invaded and populated by the vikings, the English King conducted a long campaign against them which lasted for generations. Alas, the vikings were pushed to their final stronghold, which was York (or Yor'vick as it was called then) before finally getting 'the boot' out of England =)

The museum was pretty much filled with animatrons speaking in old Yor'vick and current English

More animatrons depicting everyday life in Yor'vick. This was the busy morning in the market street

Real Life coin-temperer making souveniers for everyone. Notices the thing he hammers into tempers the metal with coin insignias.

Two words --> 'Preserved Shit'

=D

On the way back, spotted a Ferrari!

Before moving on, take note that this IS the proper way of posing with a COOL CAR!

and....

This is the improper way! XD

(Lynn is going to kill me.....)

but she's back in China, haha!

York Train Museum was next on the itinerary, which houses most of the train models ever built in the UKs. With models as early the 1820s till the advance bullet trains, all of them were dissected and put on display. (Dam, I actually forgot to take pics of the Bullet Train! Arg!)

You can't possibly talk about UK trains without mentioning Eurostar, LOL

Royal Insignia

First ever steam engine train, The Rocket

Woosh~

Credits to anyone who's able to guess what's this!

Of course a pose before leaving!

and finally, highlight of the evening, directly take out from the Harry Potter filming site!

(hey CeDong, it's here in York! Not King's Cross!)

With only minutes to spare, we had to bid farewell to York and began driving for an hour on the freeway. Next destination was Hull, where fishermen once lived! Home to er.... cheap shopping and fish museums? For our back passengers, Diana and Lynn, they were thankful that they got to sleep, coz we didn't get much rest since 7am. Me and driver Xiong Ling had to keep our eyes wide open, as she needs to drive and i need to make sure she doesn't fall asleep XD

Once we arrived in Hull, everyone just slept for the entire evening. Me on the other hand decided to go out for a short stroll in the city centre, despite it being a late Saturday evening and the time was already 4.30pm. The walk was actually enticing! Seriously felt like walking in Sungai Wang or KL's 'Chee Cheong Kai'. Maybe I was missing home much?

Yea, after an hour stroll to various places, finally came home for dinner. Best part was, we had dinner at a Malaysian Joint called 'Restaurant Tropicana'! It was a funny setting though, as the food are from Indonesia and KL themed, whilst the chef himself is a Sabahan who migrated here at 10! Oh well, as long as I got my Nasi Lemak and Beef Rendang, who could ask for more =)

Nasi Lemak

Notice Beef Rendang in the middle tray

Yum, sambal prawns~

Apetizers. We got extra portions compliment from the chef =)

Sup Soto, another compliments from the chef

Classic Goreng Pisang with ice cream and honey

With dinner chowed down, we just practically strolled around the city centre in the car. FYI, the temp was like 13 degrees! SOO NOT THE WEATHER FOR RANDOM WALKING! In the end we just returned to the motel and rested. Embarrassing enough, once i reached the bed at 11pm, I fell asleep within 5 minutes! Meantime the girls chatted on till like 2 in the morning . Thankfully nothing happened to me, or so I thought! Haha~

The only pic from our night stroll

This is during the York Army Regiment March

PS: Due to FB probs, the video can only be viewed in blogspot. Sor-wee =(

Signing off

~L'heure Bleue~

Summer Stories - Day 1 in York

Ok, to kick things off, let's blog about my 1st summer destination shall we? So, for the first time in months, finally got my busy arse away from the laptop, social sites and technology for 3 days straight! Whatd'ya expect when you are doing a postgrad program in Cybernetics which is heavily related to computers. The trip was fun s it was only me, Xiong Ling, Lynn and Diana. By the way, was my first trip with 3 girls and no guys at all. Pure uber bully by them! Anyways, my first destination was for the historic city of York, famous for... er, geese and ducks? Seriously, in total I think I'd met over 50 ducks and geese up close and personal. When they told me that meeting friends is a custom of life, I didn't knew they meant animals as well.... =D

For some reason, I find these feathery friends everywhere in York. had a large feather from the mother goose here as a souvenir =)

So, to visit York, the York Castle and Yorkminster is a MUST on your itinerary. Well, York Castle ain't a castle no more. Due to countless war, erosion and the moat drying up, only the dungeon part still remains till today. Being renovated into a war and history museum, it's no doubt a terrific tourist attraction.

The remnants of the once proud Clifford Tower behind me.

(to Jia Ping: and NO, there's no big red dog nearby...)

As soon as we arrived at the castle/museum grounds, just had to try out the artillery :p

So, first off, the York Castle museum. Inside was just your typical British Museum, housing stuff from about the late 15th century household till the early 19th century. The surprising thing was there was an asian display in the museum. It actually documented the life of a couple from when they first came here to York as a laborer and student respectively, till they had GREAT grandchildrens. Well, having a whole room of display practically about your entire life is uber awesome right? Wonder if I would ever get one for myself? :p

After the castle museum was the castle dungeon, showcasing the prison cellars, dungeon courtyard and Beetles tribute museum? (I know, the last one shocked me too!) The cellars was a bit boring, until the part when the 3 girls got trap in the Dark Room which was a room with no windows or lights. So when the door was closed, an eerie recording starts to play and they screamed out loud! Funny yet embarrassing. You be the judge~

Well, a dungeon trip wouldn't be complete without the Idiot display right? :D

Got myself jailed. Help!

Once the tour concluded, it was lunch hunting time. A trip to York wouldn't be complete if you didn't dine at the famous Betty's! Well, if you didn't, TOO BAD for yea! Jokes aside, Betty is a famous cafe or restaurant that has been in York since 1919. Specializing in cookies, desserts and classic tea, all tea time addicts would love this place. Problem was, we had to queue for 25 mins to get in. That just proves how famous and in demand that place was! So while waiting, I went off for a little stroll of my own~

This is how the entire York City Centre looked like

Lunch - Chicken and Potato Penne Pasta

Tea time at Betty's - Oh, shiny~

Next stop after lunch was the Yorkminster cathedral. This famous holy-cross shaped building surely garnered lots of attention. Even the entrance fees of 10 pounds proves it! At least the interior architecture wasn't too shabby. Up, down, left right, you could see wonders of architecture and art. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a bit on the wonders part, but still is a TRUELY MUST VISIT location!

And here proudly stands the cathedral

Some interior decos

Couldn't resist taking this one to tag on FB! Represents one of the 14 causes of death. Weirdly, having a toothache was one of them. Bad tooth infection much?

They are actually lots more of pictures on the interior deco, stain glass arts and tombstones. My camera wasn't working quite well in the extreme low light condition of those area, so an apology is in order.... Sorry....

After the minster tour, time to head back and rest. Nothing interesting to say about out hotel besides it sucks like hell, the receptionist's a bitch (and I think I speak for all), the provided kettle has blue moss growing in it (Yes, BLUE! Must be a new species or something!) and the small 13 inch room tv was located above a very tall cupboard! Super speechless and the only good thing about the place was the nice quiet pub with the grouchy bar tender..

Not too shabby~

Signing off

~L'heure Bleue~

Summer Holidayz, Phase 2 - COMPLETED

After York and Hull was my second home, Sheffield. To call it my second home would be an understatement, cause I settled down in a few places before actually considering to be called my 'home'. So, let's recap! I've lived in Taman Medan, Puchong, Bandar Utama (BU), Nottingham and now Sheffield. (Oops, did I leave out London? ) to a total of 6 homes! So, is Sheffield my sixth home or something? Anyway, the term second home wasn't even made by me, but from one of my friends instead. So, why not just savour the name for now eh? :))

Similar to the first time up there, the main purpose was to 'chillax' (a Z-Generation term for chilling and relaxing at the same time). With the ol' gang there (well, half of us) we practically stayed indoors, and gamed the entire weekend off. Of course they were some recreational and social activities outdoor as well, but too much to blog about for now. More updates with pics and juicy stories next time, as I'm lagging by 5 posts at the moment. Oh boy, when will I ever finishing updating this blog of mine.... Aigoo~

Signing off,

~L'heure Bleue~

Summer Holidayz, Phase I - COMPLETED

I'm finally back from my trip from York and Hull. The trip was uber amazing! I would rate it 9 out of 10, despite the spending of 120 pounds part :p. All of it was well spent of food, accommodation, admission fees, shopping and souvenirs for family and friends back home. Non stop laughter from Breakfast to lunch and till dinner was something that was the highlight of the whole trip.

Did I mention that I got to try an authentic Malaysian food outlet? Got to try Rendang Chicken, Nasi Lemak, Thai Green Curry, Pisang Goreng and Ayam Masak Asam Pedas all together Not a bad deal at all! Totally enjoyed myself with zero regrets.

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Clifford Tower, York

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Lunch at famous Betty's

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Evening stroll in York's Shambles

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Authentic Nasi Campur with Sambal Prawns, Rendang Chicken and Green Thai Curry Vegies

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Watching 2 Seahorses make out in public =)

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The Yorkshire Army Regiment Marching through the city

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Visiting all sorts of trains at the National Train Museum

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Firing Artilleries everywhere =)

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watching Ferrari's Parked everywhere

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and finally have fun being myself XD

The only lash back from this trip is I'm extremely tired after unpacking and going through all 500 pictures on my cam. Will update more tomorrow. Nitez peeps!